-The United Nations After three months of stability, the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization's (FAO) Food Price Index declined in December, meaning the index fell over the course of 2014 for the third consecutive year. The 1.7 per cent fall in December, which comes after the index had appeared to bottom out last month, was credited to continued large supplies and record stocks, combined with a strong US dollar and falling...

-Business Standard The ordinance has returned near absolute power of discretion in land acquisition, except in tribal areas, into the hands of the bureaucracy yet again Even after the National Democratic Alliance's land ordinance, governments will still need the consent of tribal gram sabhas in all Schedule V and VI areas of the country before acquiring land for themselves or for public-private projects. While the land ordinance has done away with the need...

-The Hindu Business Line Bearish price trends in the global market, poor rainfall took toll on farmers in 2014 Farmers in the country were hit by a double whammy in 2014. Even as poor monsoon affected kharif output, lower commodity prices, largely influenced by a bearish trend in the global market, aggravated the agrarian crisis this year. In addition, the uncertainty over the vagaries of nature, largely through frequent unseasonal rains, compounded...

-The Hindu However, the data says the implications are unclear Per capita calorie intake in India grew marginally for the first time in 30 years, new official data shows, and protein intake grew for the first time in over a decade. The National Sample Survey Office's (NSSO) 2011-12 data on Nutritional Intake was released earlier this week. The data shows that per capita calorie consumption rose to 2099 kilocalories per day in rural...

Animals, which are used for food, fibre, labour etc. hold a special place in ensuring rural livelihoods. It has been found by the NSSO's 70th Round Report that among the agricultural households having less than 0.01 hectare land (which includes landless agricultural households too), a little above 1/5th reported livestock as their principal source of income whereas 56.4% depended on wage/ salaried employment. However, as the land size went up,...